The Road to London, April 2nd 2009

The UK government has just published a document titled 'The Road to
the London Summit'.  This represents Gordon Brown's plan for getting the global
economy back on track through a new global deal.

The report sets out the 'Global Deal' - a package of
internationally coordinated measures to restore stability in the financial systems, and set a
course for a sustainable recovery.

Actions include:

• Stimulate the global economy and help reduce the severity and
  length of the global recession for families and businesses in every
  country. 
• Kick start lending so businesses and families can borrow again and businesses have the resources to invest for the future.  
• Renounce protectionism, with a transparent mechanism to monitor commitments and measures to increase access to trade finance.
• Reform international regulation to close regulatory gaps
• Reform of the international financial institutions and the creation
  of an international early warning system, with a strengthened role for
  the IMF.
• Co-ordinated international action to build tomorrow today: to put
  the world economy on an economically, environmentally and socially
  sustainable path to recovery and growth, ensuring that these benefits
  extend to the poorest.

The
document lays the basis for the G20 London Summit meeting on 2nd April 2009.

Read the Executive summary [pdf] or the Full Report [pdf].

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, four working groups are preparing reports for the Summit.

They will report to a meeting on March 14th of
G20 finance ministers and central bank heads, and each group has two chairmen: one from an industrialised country and one from a developing country.

The groups are as follows:

1) Enhancing sound regulation and strengthening transparency.

Remit: Strengthen international standards in the areas of
accounting, disclosure and risk, seek to provide greater consistency
for regulatory regimes.

Co-chairs: Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of
India, and Tiff Macklem, Associate Deputy Minister, Canadian Ministry
of Finance

2) Reinforcing international cooperation and promoting integrity in financial markets.

Remit: Strengthen the management and resolution of cross-border
financial crises, protect the global financial system from illicit
activities

Co-chairs: Alejandro Werner, Deputy Minister of Finance Mexican
Ministry of Finance, and Joerg Asmussen, State Secretary in the German
Federal Ministry of Finance

3) Reforming the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Remit: Look at the role, governance and resource requirements of the IMF.

Co-chairs: Lesetja Kganyago, Director General of the South African
National Treasury, and Mike Callaghan, Special Envoy International
Economy (Australia)

4) The World Bank and other multilateral
development banks

Remit: Consider the mandates, governance, resourcing and policy
instruments of the MDBs in light of the needs of their members and the
pressures resulting from the impact of the downturn on developing
countries.

Co-chairs: Anggito Abimanyu, Head of Fiscal Policy at the Indonesian
Ministry of Finance, and Benoit Coeure, Head of Multilateral Affairs
and Development Policy at the French Ministry of Finance

Meanwhile, Gordon Brown has been rumoured to be taking on a role as head of the new Global Financial Regulator to sort out this mess, although he's denying that.